– after Edward Thomas’ Adlestrop
Yes. I remember Little England –
The name, because one squally morn
Of rain, the liner drew up there
Unwonted, for a port in storm
The tour guide paused and pointed as
The vessel neared the cliffs of Dover
And said that’s where folk used to come
And go; nostalgic eyes gazed over
Where once they disembarked was empty
No-one left and no-one came
A throat was cleared and knotweed tumbled
The population stayed the same
We saw the sweatshops and the smog
We saw the fox, the hounds, the game
Migrating birds flew overhead
But no-one left and no-one came
